Always
by FeatherDaydreamer
Summary: Carlos and DA have been best friends since 3rd grade but now that theyre in high school things are changing, and when Carlos moves away DA is left to figure out what happened. And when he returns will things get back to normal? Does DA even want them to?
1. Prologue

**Hey guys, I just decided to do a little bit of editing, but there is a new chapter at the end of this, so don't worry. Not very much has been changed except for the last chapter that I put up, but I hope you enjoy it and the new part.**

**As always, I do not own this.**

Prologue

Fourth Grade.

"Here DA, let me help you with that." Dorothy Ann, a short, blond-headed bookworm of a girl who now could finally boast of being the fourth grade looked back at her best friend with a scowl.

"Honestly Carlos, I'm not a doll; I won't break." But he had that stubborn look on his face again, so she let him carry the pink book bag that had been her faithful companion for several years. Their footsteps echoed almost eerily as they plodded down the long hall of Walker Elementary, which was empty of students and teachers.

"Why do you have so many books in here anyway?" Carlos asked grumpily. "If you can't carry them than you shouldn't take them out of the library."

"For your information, Carlos, I am perfectly capable of carrying my own books, and you're the one that decided I can't. And I _like _books. Why did you agree to come with me to the school library if all you wanted to do was complain?"

He rolled his eyes. "Great," he said aloud. "Just what I wanted to do with the start of my weekend, hang around with a booklover who possibly has a death wish and carry enough books to put the library of congress out of business."

Her mouth fell open and she punched his arm. "Hey! I do not have a death wish! And I only have a couple in there." He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Okay," she amended quickly, "more than a couple. But still, as my best friend you should be happy to carry them for me."

His eyes rolled again. "DA if for every book that you had me lug around for you equaled two seconds of being your best friend, I'd be in office for life _twice _already."

She scowled, her stubborn chin coming up and her eyes narrowing. "For the last time, Carlos, I didn't ask you to carry my books!" She tugged the bag from his grasp but it slipped and crashed to the floor! Books were strewn every which way. Wordlessly they both bent and started to pick them up.

Carlos sighed. "I'm sorry DA." His mouth cracked into a ready grin. "I guess I just like teasing you 'cause you take everything so seriously. And," he added hesitantly, looking up at the ceiling, "I guess being your best friend for forever wouldn't be such a bad thing anyways."

She narrowed her eyes at him as she picked up a red volume. "Really? You're not just saying that, are you?"

"Who me? Never!" He helped her up.

"Okay."

He cocked his head slightly. "What?"

"Okay, as in we'll be best friends forever."

He grinned. "Alright. Best friends forever."

Two Years Later; Sixth Grade.

DA couldn't wait. She stood at the bus stop, ignoring the rain on her violet umbrella. Craning her neck as she looked for Carlos, she clutched her pink book bag to herself in anticipation. The first day of school always sent shivers down her back but today more than ever; today was her first day of middle school!

Carlos finally showed up, looking soggy and wet without an umbrella, and looking even more miserable than he usually did on the day after his last day of freedom. "Hey Dorothy Ann," he called, pointing to her bag, "Is there a book in there that talks about a law where kids can veto the first day of middle school?"

She frowned at him. "According to my research no such law has ever been made and why would you want to anyways? Aren't you excited? I can't believe we're already in middle school!"

He rolled his eyes. "Neither can I," he muttered.

"Come on Carlos! This is going to be a blast! We've finally arrived! People can't push us around anymore; we're practically adults."

With a screeching halt the bus grounded to a stop before them. DA, unable to imagine her smile getting any bigger, started to bound up the steps when Carlos caught her arm.

"I just wanted to remind you, DA," he said seriously when she looked back at him questioningly, "that people in middle school are…different. Everything can change."

She grinned. "Everything except you and me, Carlos."

Seventh Grade.

"Carlos!"

Without turning to look Carlos knew that it was Dorothy Ann. He had just enough time to run his fingers through his thick black hair before a blond bombshell rocketed into his back.

He caught her by the arms. "Woah, hey! Where's the fire, DA? Boy, either Shakespeare's come back from the dead or NASA wants you to go to the moon for them; what's all the commotion about?"

Her grin threatened to stretch of her face. "No silly, this is better than that! You are now looking at the newest member of the Walkerville Middle School Cheer Squad!"

She could have bowled him over with a feather. "Cheerleading? DA, what are you…when did you… how—?"

She smiled up at him shyly. "I didn't want to tell you in case I didn't make it, but now that I have I can! Aren't you proud of me?"

"But DA, _Cheerleading_?"

"Well you were the one that said that we should try and join some things this year since all we did last year was hang out and do homework. I thought this would be fun."

"Yeah but meant something like chess club or maybe lacrosse, but _Cheerleading_?"

Her smile vanished and she started to frown. "You've said that three times now Carlos, what is that supposed to mean?"

He ran his fingers through his hair again. "DA have you seen the kinds of girls who are cheerleaders? They're all _popular_. They hang out with the football players and basketballs stars."

Her jaw tightened. Uh-oh. "So what, are you saying I'm not good enough to be a popular kid? Is that what you're saying Carlos, cause it sure sounds like that."

"No, DA," he started to say but she was already walking away. "DA, wait!" He caught her arm and didn't flinch when she turned angry eyes on him.

His deep brown eyes were serious for once as he looked down at her. She was surprised to see that they were no longer the same height. "DA I only meant that while you are ten times better than any of those other guys, I'm, well, not."

Her eyes softened and she smiled. "Carlos, I don't think you have anything to worry about! Remember what we said at the beginning of middle school? Everything can change, except you and me. I'll always be there."

The bell rang.

She laughed. "Well, except for now. I've got to get to social studies. See you after school?"

He grinned. "Always."

Eighth Grade.

The halls of Walker Middle School were beginning to thin of students as Carlos waited for his best friend. _Always late_, he thought wryly. _Maybe this time she'll have a good excuse. _He couldn't wait to see her, but curbed his enthusiasm nicely. It was all part of his image, or at least, the image he was working on. Still a jokester, but now mister cool, cool to the third, cool above everything, cool enough to ask his best friend to go to the dance with him. Or maybe not. _Come on, Ramone, _he thought to himself. _You've got to do it sometime. _

"Carlos."

He turned and tried not to catch his breath. She looked so pretty. Her hair was longer this year, he knew she complained of it being limp and too thin but it looked just right, as always. The aquamarine skirt she wore was longer than most of the other cheerleaders', but still showed off her long legs. Her clear brown eyes shone into his like two pools of deep milk chocolate.

_It's now or never, _he thought.

"DA would you—" he started just as she said "Hey, you'll never—". They both stopped.

"You go first," Carlos said.

A smile lit her face. "Carlos, you'll never guess what just happened!"

He grinned. "What?"

"Ralphie Tennelli just asked me to go with him to the dance this Saturday!"

He felt as if his heart had stopped. "What?" was all he could manage.

"Ralphie? You know him, we were in the same class as him all through elementary school."

"The football player?"

"Yeah! Isn't that amazing? I can't wait 'till Saturday. Now, what is it you wanted to ask me?"

His brain scrambled to put itself back together. "Uhhh, um, do you uh, oh, do you have the history assignment? I must have left mine somewhere."

She looked at him a little oddly. "Carlos, I don't have the same history class as you, remember?"

"Oh, yeah! Sorry, my head must be somewhere else today. I guess I'll have to ask Arnold. Well, I'll see you DA! Bye!" He almost sprinted down the hall.

She cocked her head slightly. _That was weird._

xXx

Carlos spun the combination of his locker almost dejectedly. Ever since the dance DA had been with Ralphie or at cheerleading practice or at one of the games or even with her new friend Ariel. It wasn't as if she was trying to avoid him, but it still hurt. He hadn't had time to tell her about the family meeting that had been called a few months ago, or even about the outcome and what it would mean for the Ramone family. DA didn't even sit with him at lunch anymore. She sat with the popular kids. And even when she did call him or meet him after school all she could talk about was her new boyfriend. And with his father's news…

"Carlos?" He felt his heart almost stop as he heard the voice. He turned.

She was standing there, looking strange in the Lion's colors of red and white. "Hey, how are you?" She asked. "I haven't seen you around much lately."

He bit back an angry reply. At least she was talking to him.

"I just wanted to give you this," she added. She held out a red envelope.

"What is it?"

She smiled and he tried not to let his heart melt. "Open it, silly!"

He slit open the card with his finger and pulled out a card. It read _You're Invited!_ He looked up at her in confusion.

"It's for my birthday party," she explained. "It's the Saturday after next. I hope you can come." She looked over her shoulder. "Well, I've got to go, but I'll see you there, okay? Bye!"

As she bounded off to be with Ariel or Ralphie, he didn't care which, his hands curled around the sparkly card and crumpled the torn envelope to bits. They had been best friends since third grade. Best friends weren't like other kinds of friends. With a best friend you didn't have to call ahead to make sure they were home before coming over. With a best friend you didn't have to ask before borrowing their history book. You had free reign over their fridge. And you were always there for every birthday, without an invitation. He looked at her retreating back with anger, betrayal, and overwhelming sadness in his heart.

"Goodbye DA," he whispered as the bell rang.

xXx

It was the day after the party and DA had woken never feeling so mad in her life. It had been a great party, except for the fact Carlos had never showed. It was Sunday morning and as she walked down the still-damp sidewalk her flip-flops made squishy sounds against the dewy walk. Carlos's house was only a short walk from her house, but it was on the other side of some trees.

_Where could he have been! _She thought angrily. _I even gave him an invitation! He couldn't have just forgotten._ _Well, _the sensible part of her brain said, _maybe that was the problem. You've never given him an invitation before and he's always been at your parties. Maybe you offended him. You haven't been around very much yourself. _Her mood could have shamed a troll. _But Carlos wouldn't have let something as stupid as that keep him away. Would he?_

She had gotten to his house and tried to stay mad as she looked up at the brown Victorian home, but it was difficult in the face of so many great memories. How long had it been since she had come here?

She steeled herself and then bounded up the steps and banged on the door.

The air was chilly for May, and she shivered. No one came to the door. She tried looking through the window, but the curtains were closed. She frowned. That was odd. Mrs. Ramone always kept the front windows open in the morning to let the sun in. She knocked again, but still no one answered. What was going on today? Dejectedly she trudged down the steps and started walking home.

"Dorothy Ann?" She looked up and off to her left there was a boy about her age standing in the Ramone's neighbor's yard. He had curly orange hair and seemed to be putting out the trash.

"Arnold? Oh hey, I forgot you lived here."

"Hi DA. We missed you yesterday. It was a great party. Carlos seemed really sad that you never showed."

Her face must have showed her confusion. "What party?"

"The going away party for the Ramones. They got off okay this morning, really early. I bet you're really going to miss Carlos, huh?"

Her heart stopped. "The…what?"

He frowned at her slightly. "Are you feeling okay DA? I mean I know you've kind of been busy lately, but surely you knew they were moving? Mr. Ramone got a new job in Florida so they've moved to Orlando."

DA seemed to be having trouble breathing. "Carlos…is gone?"


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Three years later.

"W-A, W-A-L-K! Come on Lions, win today! E to the R to the V-I-L-L-E, we can't lose, wait and see!"

Cheerleaders dressed in white and blue-green, or as Ariel liked to it, aquamarine, let out loud whoops of joy as Walkerville landed a touchdown!

"Yah! Who-hoo!" DA couldn't remember the last time she'd been so happy! Well, she could, but she tried not to think about him. With only a few seconds left they were now up by twelve points, their victory assured! Everything had been so great this week! She couldn't believe that it was already the middle of her junior year. She could still recall eating paste with…well, someone she had told herself never to think of again, in elementary school. And now here she was, one of the senior cheerleaders, and she was even dating the quarterback!

It really was amazing that after all they had been through, what with the break-up and then her going out with his best friend (with plenty of time between of course), her and ex-boyfriend Ralphie were still such good friends, she reflected as they set up for the big pyramid. It was too bad that they hadn't worked out, but now that she was dating Justin, things definitely seemed to be looking up.

Speaking of Justin, as they came out of their last sequence, jumping and squealing with joy, a hand curled around the back of her neck, and lips closed over hers. When he pulled back he was breathing hard, partially from the kiss, but mostly from the game.

"Did you see us out there, Dare?" her boyfriend exclaimed, using the nickname that her best friend Ariel had given her and had stuck. "I can't believe how bad we beat those guys out there! It was awesome!" He held her close as she looked up at him. He's sooo cute, she reflected. And he's soo nice too. What more can a girl want? A face popped into her mind, but she pushed it back. Justin, she thought. Think about Justin. It wasn't hard to do. The tall, but not tall enough to make her neck hurt, boy with the short blond hair and the sea blue eyes had been pursuing her since she and Ralphie had broken up. He _was_ nice, and as Ariel put it, he wasn't too hard on the eyes either. He smiled, and it made her go a little weak at the knees.

"How lucky am I?" she said impulsively, smiling up at him. "Midterms are over, I've got the best boyfriend in the world, and his team now has a 3-0 season!"

His grin grew and he leaned in closer. "Not as lucky as I am, Dare." She shivered slightly with pleasure at the tone of his voice. No one really used her real name anymore, but hearing Justin call her that was like a man in a desert hearing the dripping of water.

"I mean, think about it," he continued. "I couldn't believe it when you finally said yes to going out with me."

He slung an arm around her, neatly grasping her old, beat-up, pink book bag and lifting it effortlessly as he walked her off the field. They took their time in the wake of the players and other cheerleaders eager to get to their cars and ultimately, the first of the weekend's parties.

She giggled. "Well it's not as if you ever let me forget that you were interested, what with all the calls, the notes left in my locker, the heart you taped to my desk in third period, oh, and the cupcake you sent me via Ariel the day after I got that C on my English paper."

He placed a hand over his heart. "Ah, yes, the cupcake. That was a nice touch, wasn't it? I am a genius! Girls never see it coming, the Oh-no-I'm-Going-to-Lose-My-4.0-GPA-Look-a-Cupcake, cupcake."

She elbowed him, giggling. "Stop it, you freak. You better go put on a skirt if you want to join the cheerleading squad," she teased. "Although I think we'd all be out of business because you're so good at applauding yourself." She hugged him tighter. "Although you were awesome out there today."

He leaned over and kissed the top of her head. And they kept going, laughing, with his arm still around her, as from the opposite end of the now empty field, near the top of the bleachers, Carlos sat, watching.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The next day.

DA or Dare, as she was now almost always called, could never figure out the minds of the people who had decided that school should start at 7:50 in the morning. Obviously they had never been teenaged girls.

Shower, dress, dry and style hair, put on make-up, not to mention the little things, like the last of yesterday's homework and eating breakfast, took longer than it should have been humanly possible! It was now 7:47, and she was rushing through the hall trying to get to her creative writing class before the bell rang.

The voices of her adoring fa—ahem, _classmates, _echoed in her ears as she passed a few latecomers.

"Hi Dare!"

"Hey Dare!"

"Saw you guys at the game, it was totally awesome!"

"Thanks!" she started to call, but it turned into an "Ooof!" as she bumped into something tall, dark, and warm. Her book bag flew out of her hands and fell to the floor, scattering books, pencils, lipsticks and erasers everywhere.

Strong hands caught her. "Woah! Careful!"

She looked up into the face of a tall, slightly surprised-looking dark-haired boy with chocolate-brown eyes and broad shoulders. She couldn't remember seeing him around before, but it was a big school. Still, there was something slightly familiar about him, something that hovered in the deep recesses of her mind, just out of reach.

"Sorry," she said, her cheeks turning red. She knelt to pick up her stuff and he bent to help her. "Thanks," she said, surprised as he handed the stuff to her. Most guys at her school didn't do anything for her, unless they wanted something. But apparently this boy didn't want anything. He just smiled at her.

_Hmmm_, she thought as she stood; the last of the books in her hands. _Maybe he knows Justin will beat him to a bloody pulp if he tried anything with me, so he's keeping it nice. _Then again, Justin might have had a tough time with this kid.

In addition to his broad shoulders he was tall, about five inches taller than her boyfriend, and was solidly built. Not in a plump way, but in a very, _very—_she noticed, blushing some more—muscular way.

He caught her eye again, and looked like he was about to say something when she interrupted him.

"Do I know you from somewhere?"

"DARE!" Ariel's voice nearly cut through the last bit of her question. "Come on, Daredevil, we're gonna be late!"

DA gave one last smile at the boy and bounded after the sound of her friend's voice, the late bell ringing in her ears.

She didn't see the way his eyes got all big and his mouth dropped open slightly. _Doesn't she kn…_he thought. _She doesn't even remember me!_

She left him behind, _Again, _thought Carlos, still dazed from seeing her so close up. From smelling her. From her not even recognizing him.


	4. Chapter 3

**So like I said before, even if you skipped reading the last few chapters again (since the changes _were _very minor,) you still should read this next bit. It is a lot better than before, even if I do say so myself.**

* * *

Chapter 3

"Who was that?" Ariel hissed at DA, barely managing to stay quiet. It was about five minutes later, and they were sitting through yet another of Mr. Gillinski's mind-numbing monologues.

Ariel was the one who had given DA the nickname Daredevil, which was accordingly shortened to Dare. For some reason neither of the girls could ever remember what had originally sparked the nickname, but Ariel always guessed it had something to do with the first backflip she had seen DA try. "You landed on your face," she always giggled, "but just picked yourself up and tried again. I've never met anyone as stubborn as you." Then DA would always answer "Then why didn't you call me stubborn or something like that?" And they would both laugh.

Now, DA tried to answer her friend without looking too conspicuous. "Who?" she whispered.

"That guy in the hallway back there. He was hot!"

DA rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, Ariel, I've already got a boyfriend."

Ariel's brown eyes feigned innocence. "I know, but I don't. And just because you do doesn't mean you can't look…especially if someone else in your life needs one." She grinned evilly.

The blond girl suppressed an eye roll. For some inexplicable reason she didn't think that the boy she had bumped into would spare a second glance at Ariel, even though if the comments written on the boy's bathroom's walls were to be believed, (don't ask how she knew what they were,) she was one of the hottest girls in school.

Even more bewildering was the fact that DA felt slightly pleased at this revelation. Mentally she shook herself. This was ridiculous. She had a boyfriend!

Still, thoughts of the hallway boy's broad shoulders and long, black hair filled her mind for the rest of the period.

xXx

Carlos couldn't go back to school. Not after seeing her. _You are such an idiot! _he thought to himself angrily as he ran down the city street where he had bolted to after the encounter with…_her._

Such _an idiot! _It had been years since they saw each other, what had he been expecting? That she would just waltz back to him, pretend nothing had ever happened, maybe even take her to prom. Yeah, real big chance of that happening after he had left town without even saying goodbye.

Well, maybe he hadn't been thinking that, but coming back to her not even knowing who he was hurt almost as much, maybe even more, as seeing her in the arms of that….urg, he couldn't even think of a word bad enough for that guy.

What did she see in him? Didn't she know what was going on behind her back? The DA he had known would have never been that blind. Whenever Carlos heard the stories that her current boyfriend told in the boy's locker room, it made him want to strangle the guy. Literally.

But it still hurt, because even if the guy was a two-timing #*&%$!, he still had DA.

xXx

Two days later.

DA, yet again rushing through the halls of Walkerville High, desperate to reach the door to her fifth period class before the bell rang.

"Oof!" she exclaimed, her breath leaving her body in a rush as she, yet again, crashed into a hard, muscular body. She looked up from the floor where she had fallen. The same boy from the other day stared down at her, his eyes inscrutable.

"Oh, it's you!" She exclaimed. Wordlessly he bent down to help her pick up the books she had dropped. _Talk about _déjà vu, thought DA.

As he handed her the last book and helped her up she tried to crack a grin. "We simply _must _stop bumping into each other like this," she joked.

"Hey Dare, you okay? That looked like it hurt." From behind the boy DA could see Ralphie, walking towards them.

"Man, Carlos," he started as soon as he was standing close to them, "You really should have joined the football team. We would win for sure…if the Bulldogs' entire defense was like DA here, that is."

DA froze. Her eyes shot to the boy. Carlos… Flashes of memory shot through her brain, ignoring all the years she'd spent trying to forget them. Carlos eating ice cream with her. Walking in the rain with her. Saving the whales by picking up gum wrappers off the street. Coming to his birthday parties. Forgetting his birthday parties. Him never missing one of hers… until the year she turned fourteen.

Her eyes locked with the boy's. It was him.

"DA…I…I," he said, hesitatingly.

Ralphie looked from one to the other. "Oh, man. I'm sorry man, I thought you told her already! It's been a while."

DA never felt so hurt in her life. Even when he had left it hadn't hurt this bad. She rounded on Ralphie. "You knew?" She turned back to _him. _

"'_It's been a while?_' Just how long has it been, _Carlos_? Long enough to figure out that when you left that day _without telling me_ you broke my heart?" Tears fell from her eyes. "According to my research, Carlos, you should have stayed wherever it was you went."

And with that she ran.

* * *

**And now, the new chapter I promised you! (But first, truely awesome people review about the changes I made, _if_ you can tell what they are!)**


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

DA ran. She ran until her legs ached, her chest burned, and her tears stopped streaming. She couldn't leave the school since Ariel had driven her, but she couldn't stay anywhere near…_him. _

"Dorothy Ann!" a voice called after. Oh no, it was Him! She ducked into the closest room she could find, not wanting to see anyone, let alone Carlos.

It turned out to be the deserted girl's locker room. Her chest heaved as she was still trying to catch her breath after the running and the crying. Then she heard the sounds. Two people, a boy and a girl from the sound of it, but they weren't saying very much.

The locker room was shaped so that you couldn't see certain parts of it when you stood near the door, but if the noises coming from behind the first line of lockers was any indication a couple had decided to have a little "alone time" while everyone else was in class.

DA sniffed. At least someone was having a good day.

The rest of the room was empty and smelled faintly of perfume and sweat; a strangely calming combination. Silence spread through the room, except for the noises the other two occupants were making.

"We shouldn't be doing this." DA started, the voice that had risen over the rustling and other various sounds was Ariel's. Had she finally found a boyfriend?

The male voice muttered something she couldn't make out, something along the lines of 'yes we should'.

In spite of herself, DA found herself at the edge of one ends of the lockers. A few more inches and she would see who it was…she pulled back. This wasn't right. Ariel had a right to her privacy…

A moan cut through the other noises and DA couldn't help herself. She looked. And a gasp caught in her throat.

Ariel was facing away from her, so DA caught a great look at the blond boy her now ex-best-friend was making out with. It was Justin.

* * *

**Yes, I know, "It's not fair, that was too short, etc., etc.," but I have more! The next chapter is almost done, and I will be putting it up, as soon as I have enough good reviews. Thank you all for being so patient with me. Also, for those of you who like Chronicles of Narnia I have started a CoN story entitled _Meeting Jadis, _which you can find on my profile. It puts a nice twist on that familiar story, so check it out if you like The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.**

**Oh, and don't forget to review!**


	6. Chapter 5

**So, here is the next chapter. I also wanted to take some time to thank everyone who reviewed, especially kenz, ajazcousins, and PapettomasutaDartz. I would thank everyone, but it would take forever to get to the story! So thank you all, and here's the next chapter...**

* * *

Chapter 5

"DA!"

She looked back and almost gave a laugh of despair through her tears. Why was she not surprised?

Carlos pulled up beside her, driving a dull brown Taurus that had seen better days. DA hugged her bag closer to herself and tried not to appear as miserable as she felt.

After she had seen…well, after she had seen her boyfriend and her best friend betray her like she was nothing, she had run as fast as she could for the second time that day. She had raced out of the locker room, down the hallway, and out of the school. Just out.

It was raining. _Fitting_, she thought, _for the kind of day I've been having_. And somehow it was easier. If it had been sunny and cheerful outside like nothing was wrong it would have been even worse. With the rain pouring down she could almost pretend that the droplets coursing down her cheeks were all from the weather and not tears.

But wouldn't you know it, Carlos had always been persistent. As she trudged along he matched her, inching the car forward at a snail's pace. Or maybe it just couldn't go any faster, she thought with an inward bark of something akin to laughter.

From here, with his window down like that, she could see him as clear as day. Sullenly she tried not to look in his eyes and failed. The concern she saw there made her want to start crying again.

"Come on, I'll give you a lift," he said, one eye on her, the other on the road.

She wiped her running eyes with the back of her hand and tried not to sob. "I…I can't."

The tenderness in his eyes nearly broke her heart. "It's warm in here, and at least you'll be out of the rain," he offered.

She sniffed and suddenly she was so tired. Tired of school, of all the drama, of thinking about Justin and missing Carlos, and most of all being perfect. It was just too hard. "Okay," she heard herself say and she got into the truck.

* * *

Carlos's hands were tight on the steering wheel but he drove as carefully as if he had a glass sculpture stuck to the roof of his car. He tried, and mostly failed, to keep from glancing at his passenger.

Dripping and most likely crying, she was still beautiful enough to take his breath away, especially at this close of a range.

She sniffed once more. "Do you have any tissues or…I guess a towel or something?"

"Uhh…" he bent slightly over her, opening the glove compartment. A few moths floated out and something moldy seemed to stare at them; he shut the door fast. "That would be a no," he confirmed apologetically.

She gave a half-hearted sobbing laugh. "Same old Carlos."

Somehow, her words cut at his heart and gave him hope at the same time.

Giving a sigh and tightening his grip on the steering wheel, he summoned his courage. "Do you want to get something to eat?"

* * *

Surprisingly, she had agreed. Whether it was out of exhaustion or not wanting to be alone, or something else she wouldn't admit, she let him drive her to Tippy's Quickstop, the greasy spoon that they had always hung out at when they were younger.

As they pulled into an empty spot DA looked through the dingy windows with wide eyes. "Wow," she said, "I haven't been here in years."

Carlos smacked his head with his hand. "Oh, gosh, I am such an idiot," he exclaimed, thinking of all the salads and healthy food that she probably ate now, in contrast to the greasy burgers, fries, and fatty shakes that the diner sold. "You probably don't eat anything here anymore, do you?"

She gave a half shrug. "I'm not really hungry anyways."

But they went in anyways and sat at a booth. Carlos ordered some fries and leaned back against the seat. He was watching her openly now. There was something beyond the shock of seeing him again. Her eyes were red from crying but the thing that broke his heart was the way that they were shuttered against the world.

"DA, what's wrong?"

She shot him a hurt look. "You mean besides the fact that my old best friend of several years that left town without telling me suddenly decides to move back to town and still not tell me about it?"

"Yes," he said curtly. "That's not all that's making you cry."

A little half-sob, half-laugh escaped from her mouth and picked one of his fries out of the pile.

"I guess I always knew. Deep down, I mean. After all, he had always been too good to be true. And I knew about the 'little things' that happened at the parties I didn't go to, but I guess I shouldn't have always believed him when he said nothing happened or it wasn't his fault." She gave a little sob-laugh but didn't bother to wipe at the tears. "I'm a real idiot."

Carlos narrowed his eyes in concern. "You're not making any sense, DA. What are you talking about?"

She smiled sadly. "Today I walked into the locker room and found my boyfriend and my best friend together."

"Oh, DA…"

"Yeah, and the worst part is that I'm not really surprised." She spoke quietly and he had to strain to hear her. "Well, aside from the shock of it I guess, I mean seeing them…and…I can't help feeling that somehow this…" she whispered the last bit, "might be my fault." Her eyes flew to his in surprise. "Oh, I didn't want to…I mean, I really didn't mean to be telling this all to…" her cheeks turned bright red. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to dump this all on you, it just sort of slipped out." She looked away. "I suppose I'll get over it."

"No, you won't." Now Carlos was the one who seemed to find the diner window very interesting. "People tell you sappy things like how there are lots more fish in the sea or they were never worth it anyways, but you never forget," his eyes, such an intense dark brown that it made her breath catch, cut into hers as he finished, "the person who first broke your heart."

DA found herself breathing heavily and he seemed so close…closer, closer…

…And then Carlos sat back in his chair and the spell was broken. She blinked. What had just happened? Had she seriously just been about to…kiss Carlos?

"So," Carlos asked, trying to switch to a safer topic, "How's Evan?"

"Evan?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You know, Evan? Your sister? Blonde? Loves cats and messing up your room?"

"Oh. Well, I don't see her all that often anymore." She took a deep breath. "My parents split up, and she decided to go with Dad."

The little concern lines were back. "Oh, DA, I'm so sorry. I had no idea. Man, I thought your parents were the last happy couple on the planet."

She shifted uneasily. "Yeah, well, they weren't."

An uncomfortable silence filled the air.

_Well, _DA thought to herself, _I've spilled all of my guts already, It can't get any worse than this. _Slowly gathering her courage, DA lifted her eyes from her lap. They met Carlos's.

"Why did you leave?" she heard herself inquire.

It was his turn to find the scenery outside the diner mesmerizing. He didn't speak for a long time but finally he found the words. "My…when…my father had told us a few months before about the job transfer. I kept trying to tell you but every time that we were alone…I…" He trailed off. She waited, eyebrows creased in expectancy.

"It just…was never the right time to tell you. You were so happy…and I didn't want to ruin that." He noticed her expression and hurried to explain. "I was going to tell you, honest, but that day…."

"That was the one where I gave you the invitation, wasn't it?"

He couldn't seem to tear his gaze from the table, but he nodded. "I'm sorry, DA, I should have told you anyways. It's just that then things started getting really crazy at my house and we were still trying to pack everything up…." His voice trailed off. There were so many things, so many things that he couldn't say, and even more that he wouldn't. "Look," he finally continued. "I know…I was wrong. Stupid, and very wrong to not tell you. But I'm hoping that someday, you'll be able to forgive me. Not today, just, sometime."

He had hoped to see something in her eyes, some indication of forgiveness, but she just looked tired.

"Thank you, Carlos." She stood, and he followed suit. "Can you take me home now?" she asked.

He searched her face. The brown eyes he had fallen in love with from the time they were kids were big and sad. Her face was blotchy and her nose was red from crying; she was soaked. He wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms, but he had given up that right years ago when he left her without a goodbye.

"Sure," he said, and they left.

* * *

**So, what did you think? I hope you appeciate the long chapter. :P I will try to get out another one soon (providing everyone reviews,) but honestly I'm feeling a little stuck. Argh, writer's block, thou art the bane of my existence! :S But anyway, review, it just makes my day!**


	7. Chapter 6

**Okay, here it is! I'm soooo sorry for taking so long, thank you to everyone who reviewed and convinced me to keep going with this story! School, life, and writer's block has not beaten me yet! I decided to try something a little different this chapter, but don't worry, the next one will most likely be back to the Justin/DA/Carlos drama that I'm known for. So without further ado...**

Chapter 6

Two weeks later.

It was sad, Phoebe thought, to look at all the people at her school who had no idea that a tragedy was taking place outside in the big, wide world. As she sat in the quad, trying to think of how best to communicate this to her fellow students, a shadow fell over her shoulder.

"Hey Phoebe," said the dark-skinned boy smiling down at her, "what are you doing out here, Miss Class President?"

A smile practically burst its way onto her face. "Tim!" she exclaimed. "You're just the person I wanted to see!" She jumped up and showed him the pad of paper she had been staring at for the last ten minutes. "I'm trying to draw a poster," she said earnestly, "alerting the kids at our school to the consequences of littering…but I'm having a little trouble getting it to look right. Can you draw some stuff for me?"

Tim twisted his head slightly to try and get a better look at the paper. "Is that…a piece of trash?" he guessed.

The redhead's shoulders sagged slightly and she heaved a little sigh. "No!" she moaned, sitting back down on the bench dejectedly. "It's _supposed _to be a recycling truck! I just can't seem to get it right!" she repeated.

He grinned and sat down next to her. "That's okay Phoebe. I'll do it. Lots of people are good at lots of different things. You're good at letting people know about the issues…"

"…And you always know the best way to _show_ them and remind them about them," she finished, smiling. "And they really _do_ need reminding. Even some of our friends haven't been the most considerate lately." Her voice lowered to a whisper and she leaned towards him, as if telling a secret. "I think I even saw Ralphie throw a _gum wrapper_ on the ground the other day."

He nodded slowly, making his eyes go wide, as if this was the most shocking piece of news he had ever received. Phoebe was like that, so naïve, but so sincere. It was almost impossible not to like her, which was probably why she was the class president.

Another reason was that she didn't like to gossip. But at Walkerville High it was almost impossible sometimes to not at least _notice _the ongoing drama that was happening at the school…which they realized once again as yelling sounded over the general din of the students milling about the quad.

"Like _heck _you are!" a girl's voice screamed. Phoebe, Tim, and a dozen other kids were interrupted in their conversations as they looked around for the source.

Tim saw the source first. She was short, slim, blonde, and beautiful even as she was screaming, red-faced mad, at her boyfriend. Or were they broken up again?

"I can't _believe_ you, Justin!" DA yelled, hands on her hips. Justin, standing in front of her, looked uncomfortable more because of the growing number of stares on them than because of the slightly homicidal tendencies of his girlfriend.

"What's going on?" someone asked from behind them. Tim turned to see a tall boy with curly orange hair.

"Hey Arnold," he said cheerfully. "DA is yelling at Justin again."

"Again?" Arnold asked, going to push his glasses farther up on his nose before realizing that he was wearing his contacts. "I thought they broke up."

"They did," Tim said cheerfully. "But I guess they got back together."

A ripple went through the crowd and another girl in a cheerleading skirt pushed her way to the eye of the storm. It was Ariel, DA's former best friend.

When Tim said as much Phoebe's eyes grew sad again. "Why did they stop being friends? I never figured that out. It was just like they were friends one minute and then terrible enemies the next."

Arnold and Tim looked at each other. "Uhhhh…" they said in unison. If Phoebe didn't know that the reason that DA and Ariel had split, at least according to all the major gossip, was that Ariel had stolen DA's boyfriend, they didn't want to be the ones to tell her.

"I think sometimes…people just drift apart," Arnold offered lamely. Phoebe pursed her lips and huffed slightly.

"Well they should go back to being friends. This whole feud is stupid."

"Hey guys!" said a new voice. "What's happening?" The two boys jumped and looked over their shoulders to see a petite, Asian-American girl with short black hair pulled back into a ponytail and a basketball tucked under one arm.

"Wanda!" Arnold exclaimed. Suddenly the quad seemed much hotter and the space between the friends much smaller. "What are you doing here?"

She gave him a weird look. "I go to school here, remember? That thing that lasts like 180 days every year of our lives until we are old enough to tell ourselves to do four more years, even though it's optional?"

"185!" Phoebe corrected automatically.

"W-w-well," Arnold stuttered, "I mean, I know that you, well, you go to school here, of course I know that, what I really meant to say was…" but she was already turning away from him to look at the unfolding drama.

"Ooh," she said, "catfight. What did I miss?" For one thing, she missed the disapproving look her class president shot her.

"DA started yelling at Justin," Tim explained eagerly, not taking his eyes off of the unfolding drama, "and when Ariel tried to get between them DA started yelling at her too."

"Something about Ariel stealing the only guy who's liked DA instead of her," Arnold put in eagerly, suddenly over his shyness now that Wanda's attention was on the scene and not him. "I guess Justin _did_ cheat on her with Ariel."

Wanda snorted. "He didn't _really _cheat on her. They were just kissing." Beside her Phoebe's mouth fell open.

"Wanda!" she exclaimed. "I can't believe you would say that! Ariel is a really nice girl!"

Wanda looked over her shoulder at her friend and shrugged. "Yeah but she's been with practically every guy in school and she's kind of a—"

"Ho boy!" Arnold exclaimed as Tim's mouth fell open with laughter.

"What!" Wanda exclaimed, whirling back around. "Oh I missed it! What happened?"

Tim was guffawing too hard to speak but Arnold got out between bouts of laughter "DA…ha haha…DA, pushed Ariel out of the way, slapped Justin and then stormed off! You should have seen his face!"

"Hahaha!" Wanda laughed. "I guess they're not together again!"

Phoebe huffed and rolled her eyes, turning back to her drawing. Why did people make such a big deal out of nothing?

She turned her head slightly to the side, mirroring Tim's earlier gesture as she stared at the drawing. It _did_ look more like a piece of trash than a recycling truck! She hissed through her teeth and tore the sheet of paper off of the pad and crumpled it up, hurling it to the ground.

It was two seconds later that she realized for the first time in her life, Phoebe had littered.

**So, what did you think? I hope it made sense and that all of you got that several tumultuous weeks** **had already passed. And, yes, that all meant that Justin and DA had broken up and gotten back together in the time between this chapter and the last one. I'll clear more of that up in the next chapter, hopefully.**

**Oh, also, before I forget, I am doing a Cats contest, so for all of you who love the musical Cats look it up under my profile. I REALLY NEED MORE PARTICIPANTS!  
**

**Thanks again to all my loyal supporters, I'll hopefully have the next chapter up soon, like maybe in a few days if I get enough reviews. In the meantime, tell me what you thought about this chapter! How did you like seeing some of the other characters? Did they sound like themselves? And (I know I'm going to start a fan war here, but oh well,) do you think Phoebe and Tim belong together? Write and tell me what you think, you might even influence what happens next!**


	8. Chapter 7

**Here's the next chapter! I've decided that most of the time I'll just update whenever the next chapter is ready, however...for the next one (which, by the way, is already half written,) I'm going to need some reviews before I'll post it! So if you want more you'll just have to review!**

Chapter 7

_It _was_ kind of bad of you to yell at him and Ariel like that, _DA thought to herself, as she searched the blue eyes in front of her. _And I suppose they couldn't really…well yes, they could have helped it, and they should have known better, but I can't stay mad at them forever, can I?_

They were in the cafeteria now. Justin, properly cowed by her anger (or perhaps the slap she had given him earlier that day) was now on his knees of all things, waiting for her forgiveness.

DA fought back a sigh. She had, after the initial crying and moping session which had lasted the whole rest of the day that she had first seen Justin and Ariel together, told herself to buck up and break up with Justin…but that just hadn't lasted very long.

It had been very satisfying, to say the least, to confront him in front of the whole school (or at least the whole B lunch) the next day in the very cafeteria that they were now in, and to see the look on his face, but she hadn't counted on the fact that he wouldn't take it lying down. She had thought that he would be totally mortified and slink away with his tail between his legs, or maybe get angry and try to throw everything back at her, but instead he had looked squarely into her eyes, and done the single most devastating thing that you could do to a person's defenses. He had apologized, then and there for hurting her. In front of the entire B lunch. And she hadn't been able to do a thing about it.

And then it was like it was his _job_ to keep her happy. He had turned up the charm so much that some of the other girls on the squad (she was still not talking to Ariel,) said that he was going to run out of sweet, meaningful things to say and do.

But that wasn't looking very likely now.

"Please, DA," Justin said, looking up at her with Bambi eyes, "forgive me. I'm sorry."

The old DA would have said something like "huh, that sounds like what you said before. And then I forgave you and you turned right back around said that it was good that we got back together because it was just a silly little misunderstanding,"…but this wasn't the old DA. She wanted to believe that he was sorry. And everyone was staring at them. Again. So she did the only thing she had left.

She sighed. "All right, I forgive you. Just please, get off of your knees."

A grin spread over his face and he rose, cupping her face in his hands and giving her a swift kiss. "You're the best, Dare," he whispered, kissing her again, deeply this time, and ignoring the wolf whistles.

DA kissed him back and tried not to think about how his lips had touched her ex-best friend's only days before.

**Yes, I know, it's short, but the next chapter should make up for that. It'll be a long one, I think, starting out with Carlos' thoughts on DA and Justin's relationship over the past few days and ending with a set-up for a...well, I'll let you read about that. In the next chapter. _After I get some reviews!_**


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